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Nahant re-creates 1919 parade scene with Boy Scouts pulling World War I weapon in a wagon

E-mail|Link|Comments () May 25, 2009 12:56 PM

By Peter Schworm, Globe Staff

NAHANT -- Hundreds of residents in this scenic seaside town lined Nahant Road this morning for the annual Memorial Day parade, which featured a World War I machine gun in a bunting-draped red wagon pulled by three Boy Scouts, re-creating a scene from the town's victory parade for returning soldiers in 1919.

The gun, which famed war hero Alvin York seized from the Germans in a legendary raid, was brought to Nahant by a native who had snatched it as a souvenier. The gun had vanished from public view for years until it was stumbled upon in the attic of the town library.

The library is giving the gun to a musuem in Tennessee, York's home state, for a $10,000 donation.

"This is its farewell tour," said library trustee John Welsh. "A victory lap."

Perched on their parents' shoulders, 2-year-old twins Alyson and Kaitlyn Lehman gazed in awe at the twirling batons and the rat-a-tat drums, their eyes big as saucers. They marveled at the kilt-clad bagpipers, and the shiny, old-timey cars carrying old men with medals on their uniforms. And they smiled and waved their flags at the big red fire engines, and the firefighters inside who waved back.

"Say hi to the chief, girls" their father, Bob Lehman, a Lynn firefighter who grew up in Nahant. "Say 'Hi, Lieutenant.'"

"Good morning, girls," the men said, smilng as they rolled slowly by.